“Après moi, le deluge”: The Review Panel in Its Tenth Year

Maybe the Jeff Koons portrait of Louis XIV triggers the association, but Labor Day always reminds me of the Sun King: “après moi, le deluge.” We are certainly in the thick of back-to-school excitement in New York City. The need for critical clarity and a roadmap are all the more acute. So, welcome to the new season from artcritical.com

With artist duo Allora & Calzadilla at Barbara Gladstone getting off to a singing start last weekend (literally, enlisting the service of boy choristers) all four shows selected for the season premiere of The Review Panel are now open for inspection. Newcomers to the program, Alexander Nagel and Dorothy Spears join veteran Review Panelist Rob Storr and myself September 26 at the National Academy Museum for an evening of critical debate.

The other shows under consideration are Angela Dufresne at Monya Rowe, Marcel Dzama at David Zwirner and Justine Kurland at Mitchell-Innes & Nash. Can you believe it’s the tenth year of The Review Panel? It seems like no time has passed since Jerry Saltz and Ken Johnson locked horns that October night in 2004, with Walter Robinson and Alexi Worth heckling from the back row that we weren’t doing our job properly. The Review Panel now seems like an institution. The event also enters its fourth annual season in Philadelphia, at the Pennsylvania Academy, next month. Details of all the dates, speakers and venues are at artcritical with links to a decade of podcasts.

Our other big news at artcritical is that we have a new Associate Editor: Noah Dillon. Noah, who is also an artist, is a graduate of the Art Criticism and Writing MFA program at SVA, and both he and that program’s director, David Levi Strauss, will appear on The Review Panel next Spring. Noah’s critical acumen and intellectual ambition have already made themselves felt in our pages over the summer. He replaces our first Associate Editor, Nora Griffin, who is now a contributing editor. To get a flavor of his mind, check out his contribution to BOODMARKED, the series where writers and artists show us the scope of their online reading.

David Cohen, Publisher and Editor

Selected articles posted recently: Irving Sandler in conversation with Franklin Einspruch, discussing the show he has curated at Loretta Howard Gallery; Alexandra Nicolaides brings a forensic eye to bear on media representations of the tragic shooting in Ferguson, MO; Lilly Wei remembers critic, curator and dandy Edward Leffingwell; Barry Schwabsky on Danielle Tegeder, in our Essay series of catalogue publications from significant solo exhibitions in public spaces outside New York.

And a few to look out for in the coming week: Hearne Pardee writing from Paris on Martial Raysse; David Carrier on Harry Roseman getting a haircut; Jessica Holmes on Monika Sosnowska’s Tower at Hauser & Wirth; David Cohen on Matthew Ritchie, and John Goodrich on Geoffrey Dorfman. To get the fastest scoop on postings, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.